Materials
The initial study of materials can be said to date back to prehistoric times when ancient civilisations were first beginning to understand the properties of different materials. However material science as a field first emerged during WWII wartime and the following Cold War when materials were deemed a limiting factor in military and space advancements.
Sophie Germain - worked on elasticity theory
Isabelle Stone - researched the electrical resistance of thin films
Mildred Dresselhaus - worked on graphite and carbon nanotubes